Lighting up Galkayo

Galkayo is Mudug region’s capital, strategically located in central Somalia. Characterized by a semi-arid landscape, the region offers suitable climatic and geographical conditions for livestock and is populated largely by pastoralists. Goats, camels and sheep graze on dry, brown grass as herders sip tea and take shade from the piping hot sticky heat.

The city’s location gives the town importance on numerous socio-economic matters in Somalia. A lively trading city, Galkayo on the main trade routes between southern and northern Somalia as well as to the Somali region of Ethiopia. Moreover, Galkayo is a hub of calligraphic art, serving as a training ground for local visual artists.

On 11^th November 2014, an inauguration ceremony was held to mark the completion of the solar street lighting installation by the NIS Foundation, in partnership with the Stability Fund. This celebrated the illumination of 50 solar street lights installed at key locations near or around the infamous ‘green line’.

This mythical line that divides the city was a product of a peace deal signed in the mid-90s after fierce fighting between the two main inhabiting groups; Puntland now governs North Galkayo whereas South Galkayo is under the Galmudug administration.

The handover ceremony was organized with the intention of bringing the divided communities together, marking the completion of a mutually beneficial project. In attendance were the Mayors of North and South Galkayo, members of the city council, elders and business communities, women’s groups and peace advocates, all from both sides of the city.

Speeches from both Mayors reinforced the need and appetite for dialogue between the two communities in order to bring peace and development to the region. The Mayors reiterated the need for officials from both sides of the city to plan and act together to help unite feuding factions under the slogan ‘Think Galkayo, Act Galkayo’.

Women leaders from Galmudug and Puntland also spoke at the ceremony. Regular dialogue between women from both communities has fostered a positive relationship and a strong support framework for local development. Men were reminded of the legacy of Somali Youth League heroes and other key Somalia figures from Galkayo who played a key role in Somalia’s independence and self-governance.

“We don’t want to be widowers, lose our boys, raise orphans or spend a lifetime tending to fatally wounded young men. We want a better life so let’s not repeat the old mistakes and let us take advantage of this kind of opportunity. We want men to think about this’’, said Dhudhi Yusuf, a women’s leader.

Speakers reiterated the benefits of a joint implementation approach, which steered the authorities towards dialogue and coordination. In contrast with other dialogues convened as a result of killings or camel raids, this is the beginning of a community dialogue between north and south based on positive and mutually beneficial development.

The installation of solar street lighting in Galkayo marks just the beginning of Stability Fund support for economic growth and conflict resolution in the region. The Fund is now considering further initiatives to address priorities identified by the Mayors and city councils from both sides of the divide. 

An innovative business-driven solution

With the set-up of their research and development farm in Balad (the R&D site), it has been an eventful year for Somali Green Initiatives & Technology (SOMGIT).  Through an innovative NGO-private business collaboration with the Center for Education and Development, SOMGIT began engaging with local communities and authorities to introduce them to their pioneering water and agricultural solutions in hope that it will transform the traditional agricultural and irrigation system in Middle Shabelle.

Smallholding farmers in Somalia are highly dependent on rainfall but, with SOMGIT’s drip irrigation systems, farmers will no longer be limited to production in the rainy season and will be able to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and other higher-value crops that require more reliable water sources. The activities at the R&D site represent a pilot project that will act as a catalyst to generate improved incomes for local farmers and enable SOMGIT to grow its business.

In coordination with the government, SOMGIT cleared the equipment and supplies through Mogadishu Port and, in late November 2014, they were delivered to the R&D site for use by smallholding farmers. The equipment included farm tools and four new John Deere tractors to support the implementation of drip irrigation systems and the application of modern agro-inputs.

On delivery of the equipment and supplies, SOMGIT immediately cleared the land and began drilling a borehole. The company has employed over 50 people at the site, the majority of whom are from the adjacent village of Muryale in the Balad District. Muryale’s residents are excited by the opportunity to work and the prospect of learning modern agricultural methods. “This site is the only employment opportunity for the youth and women in the community” said a local elder.

The borehole at the R&D site is the only borehole for the village of Muryale. Previously, the village depended on the Shabelle River for all its water needs. “This project is a great opportunity for the community to improve its livelihood, over the years we lost many crops due to the poor rains and continued drought” said a local farmer in Balad. SOMGIT is now installing a solar-powered water pump and electricity supply at the site to deliver further benefits to the local community.

SOMGIT’s vision is to promote local economic growth and employment through new water and agricultural systems and thereby contribute to peace and stability. With support from the Stability Fund, SOMGIT aims to drill more boreholes in the region and further support communities by establishing farming associations and training farmers in the use of modern agro-inputs and drip irrigation systems.

Formation of the Interim South-West Administration

On 3^rd December 2014, newly elected Interim President, Sharif Hassan Shiekh Adan, was inaugurated in the Bay regional capital of Baidoa in the presence of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The ceremony marked the formation of the Interim South-West Administration (ISWA), a process overseen by the Federal Government under its mandate to establish a federal state before 2016, as stipulated in the constitution.

The process began with the launch of two conferences of community elders from the regions. These produced conflicting demands regarding the number of regions that should form the emerging state. Negotiations with the two parties steered by the Federal Government led to the signing of a peace agreement and, on 22^nd June 2014, the two sides signed an agreement to form the ISWA comprising  three regions.

The Federal Government hosted an Iftar ceremony on 5^th July nominating an 18-member Technical Committee (TC) tasked with organizing a conference leading to the formation of the interim administration. The formation of the TC was an important first step towards the implementation of the agreement reached by the opposing sides in the region.  

The TC arrived in Baidoa on 8^th August and its work began with electing the chairperson, secretary, coordinator and sub-committees. In addition to drafting the constitution for the ISWA, the committee was tasked with ensuring that the draft was debated and approved by all delegates.

In order to facilitate attendance of the conference by the TC, traditional elders and some 320 delegates, the Stability Fund provided logistical and accommodation support. ‘With the support, we are able to achieve our goals of having a fully-fledged regional administration that our forefathers have been dreaming of for more than 65 years’ said Malak Malabow, a traditional elder participating in the conference. On 28^th October President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud officially opened the conference, in the presence of ambassadors from Sweden, Denmark and the EU, as well as the United Nations SRSG and IGAD.

On 31^st October the delegates elected a Steering Committee, including a chairman and two vice chairmen, to facilitate the process of forming the administration and adopting a constitution. The delegates successfully adopted the constitution and elected Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan as President in November 2014. ‘Today we have a system in place and hope it will cater for the needs of our community who had been suffering lawlessness, anarchy and terrorism’ said Malak Deroow, a traditional elder.

The Stability Fund is proud to have had the opportunity to work with the various people and organisations that made all this possible. The commitment shown by those involved in the process was inspiring and the Fund will continue to support the region through various new investments. 

Editorial

One of the Stability Fund’s objectives is to support ‘legitimate, viable governance structures’.  This phrase, which fails the plain English test, belies some of the subtlety and thinking that went into its formulation.

We talk about ‘governance structures’ rather than ‘government’ to reflect the range of organisations the Stability Fund can work with.  Yes, this includes the Federal Government of Somalia, the governments in Puntland and Jubbaland, and emerging federal states such as South-West State.  But it also means district administrations, village and community councils and even private sector organisations.

And we talk about ‘legitimate’ and ‘viable’ knowing that there are multiple (and often conflicting) views in Somalia about which particular elements of Somali governance have the local acceptance and ability to take and enact decisions that affect people’s lives. These are critical factors the Stability Fund considers when making decisions about its governance projects:  is the structure in question legitimate and viable enough for the Fund to consider supporting it, and what effect in turn will the proposed support have on the legitimacy and viability of that structure?

This edition of the newsletter focuses on some of the Stability Fund’s core governance projects – at federal, federal state and district levels.  On top of the self-evident technical and practical challenges of these projects, questions about viability and legitimacy of the governance structures concerned have remained at the forefront of the Stability Fund’s thinking throughout.

Caretaker Administrator Training

Since February this year the Somali National Army, working alongside AMISOM forces, have liberated twelve major towns and district capitals from Al Shabaab.  Following liberation, it is essential that local government structures take root so that the Somali state can begin to assert some authority and control in the newly recovered districts – both to mitigate the risks of a power vacuum and to begin the process by which basic services such as security and justice might be provided to the people of these districts.

The Somali Ministry of Interior and Federalism (MoIF) set out the process by which it envisaged district administrations would be created.  The MoIF’s ‘Stabilisation Plan’ started with deployment of twelve-person Caretaker Administrations to each of the districts, and then set out a process of creating interim and then permanent administrations.  Under the plan, this political work is to be complemented by projects aimed at improving government infrastructure and supporting community priorities in the districts.

But the first step was to train the individuals the MoIF had identified for deployment to the districts as Caretaker Administrators, to bring them together in Mogadishu and to prepare them for the daunting task that lay ahead: to be the first Somali government officials in districts that had long been under the control of Al Shabaab.

So it was in April this year that the Stability Fund, jointly with Sweden (which has since become a donor to the Fund), contracted the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy (EISA) to develop and deliver training to some 165 caretaker administrators.  Working closely with the MoIF and other Stability Fund consultants, EISA designed a week-long training package covering issues ranging from the roles of the caretakers, through service delivery on to how to manage the process of establishing interim administrations.  The course was run three times over consecutive weeks, ending with a graduation ceremony attended by President Hassan Sheikh.

While the graduation ceremony marked the end of the training, it was just the beginning of the historic task faced by the administrators who have since deployed out to 12 districts where they have started to lay the foundations for governance and development.  The challenges faced by these individuals are immense – not least the hardships posed by insecurity, austere conditions and poor access, but also the difficulties of negotiating conflicting political agendas, advancing the local process of establishing interim administrations, and delivering some support to the local population to demonstrate the benefits governance can bring.

The caretaker administrator training course was also just the beginning of the Stability Fund’s work to help build effective governance and deliver tangible results to the population.  The Fund is working in several of the newly recovered districts to support the administrators and implement the MoIF’s plan, and will continue to expand its presence as more and more districts become accessible.

Rebuilding and reconnecting with Warsheikh

In March 2014 the Somali National Army, working alongside AMISOM forces, liberated Warsheikh district from Al Shabaab.  Warsheikh is a historically-important coastal district located 60 kilometres north of Mogadishu in the Middle Shabelle region of Somalia. Warsheikh has cemeteries of many Somali Sufi Saints and traditionally was home to numerous Sufi Scholars who enjoyed the respect and love of the Warsheikh community and the whole of Somalia.

As one of the newly liberated districts, a temporary, caretaker administration for Warsheikh was formed through a district structure consisting of District Commissioner (DC), Vice-DC and a Police Commissioner. In May 2014, coordinating with the Ministry of Interior and Federalism (MoIF), the Warsheikh DC was one of the district officials to participate in the caretaker administration training programme.  

Following a joint planning session in Mogadishu with the Stability Fund and USAID-funded TIS programme, in June 2014, along with officials of the MoIF, we visited Warsheikh district to carry out a preliminary assessment.

During our sessions with the Warsheikh community and district administration several priorities were identified. Support to foster economic growth was prioritised, as well as basic services. And so, in addition to support for the local fishing industry, provision of safe drinking water and solar street lighting were selected for immediate investment.  

The Stability Fund and MoIF, together with Warsheikh District Administration, is signing a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise agreement on the support to be provided in Warsheikh district. Now it is time for the real work to begin: drilling boreholes, providing equipment to fishing cooperatives and installing solar streetlights will be our focus over the next several months.

The road to establishing IJA’s Public Financial Management Framework

In February 2014, the Stability Fund began providing technical assistance to the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA) to establish a sound Public Financial Management (PFM) framework and the necessary infrastructure for financial operations to commence by July 2014. This aggressive timeframe was met largely due to the commitment of the IJA leadership to implementing superior public financial management systems.

The IJA’s enactment of the Public Financial Management Decree 2014 recognized the Minister and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) as the custodian of IJA financial matters and a legal framework for PFM. Expenditure management procedures and a robust commercial Financial Management Information System (FMIS) have been developed for use by the MoF and all other government bodies. Working closely with Stability Fund, the IJA has also completed an initial review of subnational government revenue and has developed a decree to formalize revenue raising.

In September 2014, the Stability Fund delivered a two week seminar for 25 IJA officials to introduce them to the PFM framework and procedures.  This included staff from line ministries and agencies for the first week, followed by more intensive training for 12 newly-recruited Ministry of Finance staff during the second week.  By the end of the seminar, through a practical, learning-by-doing approach to capacity building, the FMIS was fully operational and the recently-approved Budget for the second half of the 2014 fiscal year had been entered into the system.

The next step, as envisaged in the 2014 Budget, was to formalize responsibility for revenue collection in a new Revenue Administration (The IJARA). A workshop to outline the strategic plan for establishing the IJARA was completed in Kismayo in October. Banking arrangements have been established with Dahabshiil Bank, providing safe cash storage, deposit and withdrawal services, and full transaction reporting.

The IJA’s system features a Budget Classification Structure (BCS) that allows the MoF to control and account for all revenues and expenditures based on the IMF Government Finance Statistics (GFS) framework.  This particularly applies to donor funding provided directly to the IJA, which can be uniquely identified. The use of the donor funds can accordingly be tracked and reported in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

In recent months, the MoF has continued to progress implementation of its PFM framework, with limited technical assistance and support from the Stability Fund. The ministry continues to collect revenue, which is now all deposited in the IJA’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) in Dahabshiil Bank. While a permanent ministry building is being constructed, financed by the Stability Fund, the Minister is operating from secure temporary offices. With just 10 laptops and a reliable internet connection the budget department is now finalising the FY 2015 budget.

The Stability Fund is proud to have had the opportunity to work with the IJA on establishing its PFM framework. The degree of commitment and ownership shown by the IJA, from the President to data entry clerks, bodes well for the future of an administration that will thrive by embracing the principles of financial transparency and accountability, and delivering public services in return for government revenues.